


3sweeps AU (think of better name later)

by Colorora



Series: Strifin and Building AU fics [2]
Category: Homestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-30 04:16:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11455803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colorora/pseuds/Colorora
Summary: As with all my other fics. Don't read this you won't get it. >.<





	1. Arrival

"Hey, Wiss? Would you be okay with a little brother or sister who was a troll?" You knelt down to his level. You don't do that very often. So he knows you're REALLY considering his opinion. He looks up at you, and then goes back to colouring his minecraft colouring book. 

"I don't really care" 

"Okay." You sigh. You suppose indifference is better than opposing. But still, he might be surprised when something actually happens. Still. You head back to the computer and fill out the form. 

Male or female? Whatever, you don't care. Age of child? You can't do babies or grubs or whatever. Gotta be older than 5. Dental problems? Who the fuck CARES. Tendency to reject father figures? You're not getting a man any time soon. Premature? Eh. Why not. Retardation... you can't deal with that. Autism? Uhhhh, sure? Schizophrenia? Jeez this list is long. Maybe? Sure why not. Oh god... child involved in prostitution? That's awful. You have to say yes. Physical disabilities? No, your apartment isn't fit for a wheelchair. Mental disability? Not severe, but you can deal with anxiety or depression and shit. Previously abused or neglected? Sure. 

God that was long. You print it out. Send it in the mail, and wait.

>Be the social worker  
You knock on the door of the minuscule hive. Burgundy blood, female, suspects of abusive and neglectful lusus. Doesn't surprise you. Humans are always over-reacting. It takes a little time, and you knock again, a little harsher this time.

"Social services! Open up!"  
A little troll girl opens the door. God she's small. You invite yourself in without saying a word. She stands to the side and holds the door open for you. She looks terrified. After she closes the door you kneel down to her level.   
"What's your name?"   
"Aeseop B-B-Blaren Miss"  
"I'm Jytana. I'm here to check up on your hive and see if you're doing okay. Some people are telling me you weren't"  
She bites her lip and looks down.   
"Where's your lusus?"   
"She's out"  
"When will she be back?"  
"Two days at the most"

That's an awful long time for a three sweep old child. But lusii go out for extended periods of time constantly. Just not this young. It should be no cause for concern.  
"She left today?"  
"Three days ago"  
That's very long. And troubling. Five days. Far too long. Especially if it's normal. But if that's all it should be no problem. You take her measurements first. She's three feet tall. Half a foot shorter than the average for her age. You take out the scale. Thirty two pounds. With clothes. Very underweight. That's not good. 

"Show me around your hive Aeseop, why don't you?"   
You don't want to scare her. She bites her lip and takes your hand, leading you to the kitchen. It looks pretty typical.   
"This is my kitchen"  
You walk over and look in the fridge. Theres not much. That's awful. There's nothing. She walks you over to the cabinet and there's not much there either. You take a picture while she's distracted and write in your clipboard that makes you look oh-so important.

Aeseop Blaren shows extreme signs of neglect. No food in the mealblock, nearly twenty pounds under the average for her age. Stunted growth, half a foot shorter than average. Lusus has been out for three days. She expects it to come back in "three days at the most". It may very well be there has been upwards of a week this child has been left alone.

You feel her tugging on your arm a bit. She looks up at you with pleading eyes.   
"My respiteblock is upstairs"  
You Nod. And allow her to hold your hand up to her room. It's good she got an olive blood like you and not those indigo creeps that would snap her in half for being too friendly. Her room actually looks pretty typical for her age, blood colour, and gender. You take the lead and sit down on her bed and pat the spot next to you. She's in the middle of presenting her computer, but she shuts her mouth and hops onto the bed with you. You discreetly press record on a tape recorder so that you might get a statement. You try to speak in a friendly tone.

"Tell me about your lusus, little one"  
"She's the best lusus in the worrrrrld. She's a deer. She does what's best for me."  
"What happens when she's home?"  
"She- uh-"  
Bingo. Something happens when this little trolls lusus is home that will complete the case file.  
"She won't let me out of my respite block. Only sometimes."  
"Only for meals?"  
"Uh, well, yeah. She only feeds me sometimes. Only if I'm a good troll and I deserve food. Which isn't very often."  
Shit. You've just hit a gold mine. Gotta keep digging.  
"What do you mean by "good troll" Aeseop?"  
"Uh... whatever she feels like? I try real hard not to make any noise. I think that impacts it. Also I try not to purr 'cause she doesn't like that either."

Yes. Okay. This is terrible, but really really good at the same time. If you can uncover a bit more you should be able to help this little girl.   
"And tell me Aeseop, what happens if you come out of your room when you're not supposed to?"  
"She yells at me and spits on me a bunch. It's scary. But it's what I deserve for being bad."  
The way she says all this with a small smile on her face is terrifying.   
"Has your lusus ever hit you Aeseop?"

She shakes her head no. You inhale.  
"Aeseop, how about you come with me? I'll take you to a new hive with a new lusus maybe, and maybe even some new people. You'll get to eat a whole three times a day!"  
The pupils in her large eyes dilate. You can't tell if it's from fear, anger, or surprise.  
"Why?"  
Here comes the time where you drop the bomb.  
"Because the way your lusus treats you is very very bad. And you should get better"

She doesn't understand. You pull some dolls out of your bag. Two dolls representing trolls. And two representing a lusus of some sort. You pick up one doll and a corresponding horse lusus.  
"This is Hadela. Hadela lives in a nice hive and allllways has food in the mealblock that she can eat whenever she wants. She's allowed to run and play and make lots of noise in her hive. Hadela is now ten whole sweeps old!"  
You pick up the other two dolls.  
"This is Arofeh. Arofeh's lusus isn't very good. He screams at Arofeh and he doesn't let Arofeh have friends, or eat, or do anything that's very good. So one day Arofeh got a visitor who took him out of his hive. So that he could play and eat and run in somebody else's hive. Because he wasn't allowed in his own. They put Arofeh in Hadela's hive and now she takes care of him. Understand Aeseop?"

She nods.  
"So I'm like Arofeh? And I need to go with someone like Hadela?"  
"Exactly! Very good!"  
Her eyes well up with tears.  
"Why? Why why why WHY? No no no no. I D-D-D-DESERVE this. I'd just be a b-b-b-burden everywhere-ere else I-I-I-"  
You pay her lightly on the head. It would be blatant violation of protocol to shoosh pap her. You produce a suitcase from your sylladex and place it on the bed.  
"Here Aeseop, do you want to help me pack up your things?"  
"N-o-oooo-o."

You nod. You move to her closet and fold up her clothes. She doesn't have a vast range. But that's typical of most trolls. You take what seems to be her journal on her desk. And then her laptop. You move to grab a stuffed bear. But she pushes you out of the way at record speed and grabs it herself.  
"NO! Only I'm a-a-allowed-d-d to t-t-t- touch him!!!"  
You nod and zip the suitcase up. You pick her up and she's as light as a feather. You can practically feel her contemplating whether to fight of not. Thankfully for you, she doesn't as you carry her out and place her in the car. She cries without a sound. Which is awful. She clutches the bear, probably some sort of comfort object she's had. You call in and report the case file as a success. You tell her she might be placed with a human. She seems indifferent in how terrible they'll both be. 

Skip ahead, skip ahead, lots of crying, fighting to make sure she's not just brushed aside as a result of her blood. Forcing her to eat, and moving around various places later. You find a match with somebody who is willing to take in a "female burgundyblood, three sweeps, previously abused + neglected. Stutters when angry, sad, nervous, etc... possible signs of depression, disordered eating, and definite signs of anxiety in later life. Malnourished, underweight, stunted height. More conditions may apply."   
A twenty-something human woman from Idaho. Takes care of one six year old human brother. (Good for case victim to spend time around others her age) has an apartment, but a fairly big one. Finally, Aeseop is handed over to American customs.

>Be Aeseop  
You are Aeseop and you are trembling. You've learned about your new carer. She sounds okay. But your entire world has been twisted upside down. Thrown into a 300 mph roller coaster ride, and then spun around 500 times in a wheely chair (the eighth wonder of the world you have discovered). You got on a big plane. And got flown to America. Now you're waiting for the big scary human "police officer" to take you to the new hive you're gonna live in.

>Be Sis, a lil while backwards, but not TOO far  
You've just received the email. Female, Wiss's age, burgundy blood. Neglected AND abused. Shows signs of depression, anxiety and disordered eating. You nod, you can work with this. It'll be okay for her. You walk into Wiss's room.  
"Wiss?"  
"What?"  
"Remember when I asked you if you would be okay with a brother or sister who was a troll?"  
"Yeah?"  
"You're gonna get one"  
He sighs.  
"Okay. I don't really care?"

You turn his desk chair around to look you in the eye.  
"She's going to be very small. And very VERY scared. And sad. She might take some attention from me that I don't usually give you."  
"Okay. I'm not little anymore Sis. I'm a big boy and I can help"  
"She's your age"  
"Okay."   
You walk out of the room. She's gonna arrive tomorrow. You buy some things to dazzle up her room. The guest bedroom. A cute bedspread. Just solid pink with flowers. 

Skip ahead skip ahead to the next day. Wiss is at school. You're in your room watching anime. Why would you be nervous? You're prepared. You hear a knock at the door, pause the show, and open it. Dear lord she's tiny. Wiss is easily a foot taller than her. She's skinny too, she looks like a little porcelain doll. Very fragile, and very afraid. She tips her head all the way up to look at you. She looks terrified. The police officer behind her chimes in.  
"Say hello Aeseop."  
"H-h-h-h-hellllo?"   
"Hello Aeseop."   
You smile a bit at her. The police officer pushes her a bit further into the apartment. Against her will. And slams the door behind him. She yelps and grabs your thigh. Which she's just tall enough to reach your hip. Huge dick move there police officer. You lead her to the couch and sit her down. You sit down next to her as well. She curls up into fetal position.

"Aeseop? You can call me Sis. My little brother Wiss is gonna be home in about an hour from school."   
She nods.   
"Would you like to tell me about yourself?"  
"I like-like-ke reading-g and writing"  
"Oh that's so cool! Do you write stories?"  
She nods.  
"Are you tired Aeseop?"  
She nods. You pick her up and take her to her room. She gasps a bit when you pick her up. As though affectionate touch is something beyond her. You tuck her into bed. You really hope she won't be up half the night as a result.

>Be Wiss  
You are walking home from the school bus. Sis said that your new sister was gonna be there when you got back. But when you opened the door there was nobody there. You decided to just sit and wait on the couch. You just cracked 4,1 and you're the tallest kid in your class. Obviously. You watched some cartoons for a bit until your heard some rustling near the hallway. You look over, and there, peeking past the wall, is a little troll girl. And by little, you mean LITTLE. She's a foot shorter than you. And a lot skinnier. She looks like she's clutching a blanket around her. And a teddy bear. Lame, teddy bears are for babies, is she a baby?

The minute you two make eye contact she gaps and runs back down the hall. You can hear the door open and close to her room. 

Your sister comes out about fifteen minutes later.   
"Did you see Aeseop? She's been napping for a while, I don't want her to be up half the night"  
"Yeah. We looked at each other and then she got scared and ran back to the room"  
"How long ago?"  
"I dunno"  
Your sister opens the door to "Aeseop's" room.  
"Hey? You wanna come out? Yeah? My brother Wiss is here. Okay."  
She goes into the room and comes out with "Aeseop" wrapped around her. She's so small compared to your sister that it's almost weird. Your sister is four feet taller than her. When Aeseop catches sight of you she hides away in your sister's shoulder. Your sister manages to get the small troll detatched from her limbs and next to the couch with you. Aeseop's still clutching that bear. And even you seem to dwarf her. 

She curls in the corner of the couch and looks over at you. Naps? A teddy bear? Man, she really wasn't a big girl.  
"Are you a baby?"  
"What's a baby?"  
"Only babies don't know what babies are"  
"Wiss!"  
"What?"  
"That was mean. Wiss. Be nice to Aeseop"  
Aeseop seems to shift in her place.  
"What's a baby?"  
"Like a mini human before they grow up and doesn't know how to talk or walk and sleeps all the time"  
"So a grub?"  
"I don't know"  
"Why would I be a 'baby'?"  
"Cus you just took a nap and you have a teddy bear. Those are baby things"  
"WISS!"  
Aeseop yelps and then covers her mouth. You can't help but feel a bit confused.  
"Wiss go to your room now"  
"But-"  
"Now."

You stomp off to your room in a huff. You fail to notice Aeseop trembling. Tears in her eyes from all the yelling.

>Be Aeseop  
"Do you w-want me t-t-t-to go back-back-k to my room t-t-too?"  
Sis sighs.   
"No. Aeseop. It's fine. Wiss was just being mean."  
If that's being "mean" then you think things are gonna go a little bit better here.  
"Did I startle you by yelling?"  
You nod.  
"Well, I'm sorry Aeseop"  
She heads into her room. You're left all alone in the living room. You decide to go back to your room anyway. It can't hurt.

>Be Sis:  
You decide it's long overdue for some Dinner. You make some ramen, chicken flavoured for the kids, and chili pepper for yourself. You call Wiss and Aeseop out of their rooms. Aeseop's a little hesitant. But eagerly hops onto the chair at the dinner table once she realizes she's going to be fed. Jeez, did her lusus treat her like a dog or something? You set the bowls down at your respective places. Wiss starts eating savagely. God that kid can eat. Aeseop peers into the bowl suspiciously.

"What's this?"   
"It's ramen you dumb dumb"  
"Wiss"  
You practically growl out his name. Which makes Aeseop flinch. You sigh. This is going to be an exercise in speaking softly. Isn't it? 

Aeseop seems to be watching you intently. You just hope she finishes it before it gets cold. She finally moves on after observing. She's a little messy at first. You watch her tense up when she drops the noodle from her fork on to the table.  
"It's okay."  
She looks up and nods. She finishes her food slowly. The wait gruellingly long. Eventually you just let Wiss go play while you stay. Eventually, finally, she's done.   
"Thank you"   
"No proble-"  
She's up and she's run off down the hall. She's not in her room, she- oh fuck.  
The poor thing is heaving up her food before the last of it even got down her throat. You rub her back and hold her hair away. Jeez, she has A LOT of hair. 

She starts crying after she's done.  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"  
You're taken aback. You just continue to rub her back and shush her.  
"Shush. It's okay. Are you allergic or something?"  
"I don't think so..."  
"Cmon. Let's get you into the living room. You can play with Wiss"   
After plunking Aeseop down on the couch, you pick up your phone and google "ramen safe for trolls to eat?"

Apparently not.  
Looks like you're gonna have to make real food.  
This is gonna be a long twelve years...


	2. School

Seven, you're both in school.  
It was May when she came, so there really was no point in enrolling her into the first grade for a month. It's good that you two go to a school for humans and trolls. Though all the teachers are human. 

You remember the first time she ate at your house. Sis made ramen, as per usual. And gave you both OJ. She eyed the ramen suspiciously but ate it anyways... and then threw it all up in the bathroom a couple seconds later. You aren't entirely convinced she isn't a baby. She has that stupid bear she tugs around wherever. It's really dirty because she won't let anybody touch it so that they can wash it. Sometimes she runs it under water in the sink. She says she's giving it a bath. Then there's the naps. She takes so many naps. At least once a day. She's really small. Apparently, she's older than you by a couple months. But neither of you buy into that.

You get to boss her around because she's shorter. And also a big baby. But you don't tell her that last part. It's a very agreeable arrangement. 

She doesn't go out very often. She's only been to the park with you once. That one time you pushed Sis into a lake. She played on the playground a bit. But was horrified when she watched Sis smack you. It didn't even hurt. But she was terrified of your sister for the next few weeks. 

>Be Sis:  
You are at your wits end. You're secretly glad school is coming. All summer you had to look after the both of them. You can't raise your voice, can't feed Aeseop ramen. Aeseop is quiet. Almost worryingly so. But dear lord she has the self preservation instincts and co-ordination of a drunk lemming. No! Aeseop! Don't touch the stove! It'll burn you! Aeseop! No! Don't fucking stick your fingers in the light socket! Aeseop! Fuck! I'd rather you ask me for help in getting a plate than try to get it yourself and nearly having it smash you over the head!

Of course, you can't say that EXACTLY to her. Or else she'll start crying. You've raised your voice a few times before on accident. She was inconsolable. She wouldn't stop spouting about how worthless and useless and stupid she was. It broke your heart. 

You know it's hard on Wiss as well. He doesn't quite understand that "Aeseop's mom was really really bad to her. And she yelled and wouldn't feed her. So Aeseop's really scared". Which he shouldn't. But still. You're sure it'll come in time. 

You think Aeseop is gonna do well in school. She loves to read and write and after you get past the initial barrier. You've seen she's amazingly smart. Able to retain information for a long time. You first, however, have to get over the barrier of getting her into the school.

It's the first day of school. She's decked out in some jeans (from the 4 year old section). A black shirt with her "sign" on it. It looks like an A. You got her a pink backpack. Apparently that's her favourite colour. But now she's... you've never seen this side of her before she's...  
Taking a tantrum.

"NO! I DON'T WANNA GO TO SCHOOL DON'T MAKE ME GO PLEASE! IT'S SCARY I'M SCARED SIS DON'T MAKE ME GO!"   
She's laying on the floor of her room. Kicking and screaming while Wiss watches cartoons in the living room. You kneel down to her level.  
"Aeseop, remember all the cool things I told you about school? And all the stuff you'll learn?"  
She starts sobbing. You wonder if you should go grab her anxiety medication.   
"And Wiss will be with you! Remember!"  
She nods. And wiggles closer to you. Burying face in your shoulder.  
"Promise you'll come back?"  
Oh. Ohhhhhhh. That's what this is all about. She's scared you won't come back. She's scared you're abandoning her. You should have known. Fear of abandonment is one of the things that the guy on the phone was telling you. She's terrified you'll leave her. 

You wipe her tears from her face and hug her.  
"I'm not gonna leave you. It's just for eight hours. Can you do that Aeseop?"  
She nods. You lead her out the door, collect Wiss, and drive to school. She starts crying again and you hug her. Kiss her forehead and send her in with Wiss. Wiss takes his job as a "big brother" very seriously. Even though Aeseop's older than him by a couple months. It's good you think. Aeseop is by far the smallest kid in her grade. She'd fit in better with the kindergarteners. It's good to have somebody you know is gonna grow to be strong protect her. 

>Be Aeseop:  
You shake a bit as Wiss leads you through the corridors of the school. You come to a classroom like the ones you see on TV. You step inside. You're the only troll there. But they're all playing and having fun. You walk over to the bookshelf and take one out. You find a hiding place under one of the desks. You pull the chairs in and find yourself suitably hidden. You begin to read.

>Be Wiss:   
Sweet! You're in a class with Hana and Eric! You start playing pirates with them. Aeseop forgotten, you're sure she's fine. The teacher calls you all to come sit on the mat as she starts to do attendance. Aeseop is first on the list.  
"Aeseop Blaren?"  
Silence. You look around. She's not on the mat.   
"Is Aeseop Blaren here?"  
"One moment-"  
You get up and start looking underneath chairs and desks until you find her cooped up under one of them. Your teacher is asking you to come back.  
"Found her!"

"Wiss I'm reading."  
"You gotta come. We're starting the day."  
"Why?"  
"So we can learn stuff"  
She crawls out from under her hiding place. You lead her over to the mat sit her down right beside you. She looks wayyy too young to be in a second grade class next to you.

"Well. Aeseop. You need to learn to follow directions. I told everyone to come to the mat"  
"I-I-I didn't hear you!"  
"When I said it all five times? It's obvious you were choosing not to listen. That's bad"  
She just nods and scrunches closer to you. The teacher goes through everybody else's names. And then moves on.  
"Here in this class we're gonna have lots of fun okay everyone! But we have some rules here."   
Aeseop's ears seem to perk up. The teacher points to a list on the wall.  
"Help each other, clean up after yourself, use kind words. And that means no saying mean things to other people."  
Aeseop nods as if the teacher were talking to her specifically. You can see her trying to memorize the list.  
"Share everything and tell the truth! You will never get in as much trouble if you tell the truth than if you lie. Say please and thank you. And don't whine"   
Aeseop hugs her knees to her chest. The teacher sighs.

"Aeseop. That's not full-body-listening."   
Aeseop looks very confused. She doesn't know about full body listening. Oh no. You gotta find a way to get her to do it before-  
"What's that miss?"  
"Don't play dumb with me."  
You manage to get Aeseop in the criss-cross-applesauce position. She couldn't look more uncomfortable. The teacher nods and begins reading a book. Deciding it's "story time". She has the book facing the class so that they can see the pictures. Aeseop starts mumbling along with the words. Almost like she's not doing it on purpose. The teacher shoots her a dirty look. She gasps lightly and immediately stops. 

Throughout the day. Aeseop constantly "fucked up" even though you knew she was trying her hardest not to break any of the rules. She did really well when you all worked on a worksheet placing things in alphabetical order. But during math she was frustrated to tears. You were trying to help her. But the teacher came over and moved Aeseop's desk away from yours. All the way over next to her own desk. 

Aeseop looks like she's about to burst. Into what? Tears, screaming, just breaking down? You've seen it all. You wanna go comfort her but that'd get you BOTH in trouble. You watch as she finishes her sheet last. And grabs a doll to play with before snack and recess outside. The bell rung and she looked terrified for a moment before realizing what it was. You grabbed your lunchbox and opened it up. She came and sat beside you without her own.

"How come you're not eating Aeseop? Sis packed baby carrots"   
You know they're her favourite. For some reason. She shakes her head. You decide to just let her be. The teacher waltzes over.  
"Aeseop. Where's your snack?"  
She points to the cubby where her backpack lays.  
"Why don't you go get it?"  
Aeseop whispers. So quiet even you can't hear it.  
"I don't deserve food..."  
"Sorry Aeseop I didn't hear you. You're going to have to speak up"  
"I don't deserve food."  
Why wouldn't she want food? It's right there. It's free. She just has to walk over and grab it.  
"What do you mean by that Aeseop?"  
"I mean I don't deserve food. I was a bad troll. And I shouldn't get to eat. It's a privilege I have to earn. Not a right"

The teacher looks surprised. And worried. That's never happened at home before. Sometimes it took some coaxing from Sis. But she never said anything like that. You hand over your bag of baby carrots. You don't even like them anyways.  
"Aeseop. You should do me a favour. I don't like baby carrots. Can you eat them so Sis doesn't get mad?"   
She looks suspicious. But then nods. And starts eating. The teacher walks off. Writing it off as just a one time thing.

It's recess now. Aeseop's not quite sure what to do. There's so many kids playing at once. Big kids, little kids, well, she's the little kid. But you mean LITTLE little kids. She looks around and you think she's a little bit scared and overwhelmed. She looks like a deer in headlights. You decide to just leave her be.

>Be Aeseop:  
You sit against a wall and hug your knees to your chest. You tried to bring a book out when you left. But the teacher snatched it from you before you could bring it. You watch all the kids running and playing until it's time to go in. 

You're doing science now. It's interesting. But you're so sleepy. You miss Wiss. He's all the way at the other side of the room. And you're still perched by the teacher's desk. You know she thinks you're a bad kid. You're trying to be quiet and good and follow the rules but you guess it's not enough? You wanna be back with Wiss. You hope she puts you back with Wiss soon. Wiss is playing with his friends. What if he leaves you behind? What if he doesn't wanna be friends with you anymore? 

Wiss looks sick. The teacher tells him to go to the office and call Sis. He gets up and you follow. You're pushing your chair in when the teacher shouts. Shouts at you.

"NOT YOU TOO AESEOP!"  
You scream a bit and sit back down immediately. Your eyes go wide and your breathing starts to become more of a wheeze. Wiss is long out of the room. He hasn't been out of your sight since the day started. And the teacher just yelled at you. You're bad. You're not gonna be able to eat supper tonight. You just know it. 

Soon your thoughts turn to "it's my fault Wiss got sick." And "obviously I shouldn't have followed him. Sis would never want me after I've been so bad". The day seemed to never end. Last hour and a half. After you had nobody to eat with or play with at lunch time, was art. You were gonna paint a get well soon card for Wiss. You pulled out blue and red paint. And lots of sparkles and stickers. You meant to pour out some of the paint. But you ended up pouring ALL of the paint. There's red paint all over the table and the teacher hasn't noticed yet. Until one of the kids raised their hands.

"Miss! Aeseop spilled red paint all over the table!"   
The teacher turned towards you and pointed to the door. She looks furious. You get up and bolt out of the room and sit against the wall, crying. She pokes her head through the doorway.  
"Go to the office Aeseop. Now."

You get up and run around the school until you find what you think may be the office. The receptionist looks at you, concerned.  
"What's wrong honey?"   
"M-m-my teacher sent-sent-t me here!"  
She opens the door and sits you down on a chair.  
"What's wrong?"  
"I TRIED to be good! I promise! I tried to follow all the rules I-I-I promise I really tried to be a good troll!"  
She rubs your back and your teacher walks into the door to the office. You scream and try to hide behind the receptionist.

"We need to see principle Maheyshwaren right. Now."  
You've heard of the principle's office. It's where bad kids go. It's where bad kids go to get in trouble.  
"Call this girl's guardian if she has one."  
"Name?"  
"Blaren, Aeseop. A e s e o p"  
"NO! PLEASE DON'T CALL SIS SHE WON'T WANT ME ANYMORE IF SHE KNOWS I WAS BAD!"  
The teacher leads you into the principle's office and sits you down in front of the man. You sob and sputter but can't get out any real words. They would all be pleas not to call Sis. 

>Be the receptionist:  
You punch in the number the computer gives you and call Asen Kenlim. Sister and guardian of Wiss Kenlim and guardian of Aeseop Blaren.  
"Hello? This is the school right? Did Aeseop get sick too?"  
"Uh- no. But she is in the office. Her teacher wants to talk to you. Presumably about something she did. Seeing as Aeseop was crying uncontrollably when she came into the office."  
"Oh fuck. I'll be there right away"

>Be Sis  
You tell Wiss you'll be back soon. It was just a headache. He'll be fine. You hop in the car and nearly speed over to the school. You walk in and up to the receptionist.  
"Asen Kenlim? Here for Aeseop Blaren?"  
The receptionist rings the buzzer to the principle's office and tells him that you've arrived. You can here Aeseop's crying from here. God that girl cries loudly once she realizes that she doesn't have to keep quiet. You hear a muffled "NO! NONONONO!"  
You knock on the door. The person you assume is her teacher opens the door. She looks very pissed off. And kinda bitchy. She holds the door open and you get your first look at Aeseop. Crying harder than you think you've ever seen her cry. Even when she has nightmares about her lusus at night.

Aeseop looks up at you with tears streaming down her face. She could fill a pool with her tears you think.  
"I'M SORRY I WAS BAD! I'M SORRY! PLEASE. I TRIED TO BE A GOOD GIRL!"   
"Aeseop! Be QUIET!"  
The teacher practically growls the demand at her. Aeseop cries harder. A fire lights in your eyes.  
"Tell me what the FUCK she did to deserve this treatment. Because it better be something along the lines of 'she killed a man'"   
Your exercises in not raising your voice around her forgotten. You fume.

"She's not been listening all day. She wouldn't come out from under the desks when I called her to sit on the mat. Blamed it under 'she couldn't hear me'. When I told her she wasn't sitting in listening position she played dumb. She was talking with Wiss while she should have been working-"  
"HE WAS HELPING ME! I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND!"  
"SHUSH AESEOP. That's an excuse. That was first grade math. You KNOW how to do it"  
She shakes her head no. But the teacher continues.  
"She had to be coaxed to eat by Wiss. Which is a burden another second grader shouldn't have to bear. She tried to get up and leave when Wiss left because he was sick. And THEN, she spilled red paint all over the table."

"It was an ACCIDENT I was trying to-"  
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH"  
You get reallll up close and personal with this teacher. You look her straight in the eyes. You fucking glare. You speak in a low, soft voice.  
"Leave Aeseop the fuck alone"  
You pick Aeseop up and carry her to the car. She sobs and sobs and sobs all the way home. You hear bits and pieces of "please don't leave me".

Once you get home. You have Aeseop take some of her anxiety medication. You check on Wiss, who's decided to drift off to dreamland and start slowly rubbing her back. Whispering reassurances that, no. She wasn't bad. And no. You're not gonna leave her. And yes. You're going to feed her tomorrow.

Eventually she calms down. Only hiccuping occasionally. Your clothes are covered in burgundy tears. It looks like she's asleep. Aw, that's adorable. It reminds you that you should cut those pills in half though, her new ones put her out like a light, and the doctor recommended it if she was going to have it in the middle of the day. You lay her down on the couch and watch some anime in the living room for once.


	3. Mistakes

"Hey class! So today we're going to do a Lusus day activity!"  
The kids around you cheered. You bit your lip. Your class is mostly trolls now, after your first day of school debacle, you got moved. Much to both yours and Wiss's disappointment. And your fear. Your teacher is a lot nicer though, and she didn't yell at you for cowering in the corner for the first... couple days. You were eventually lured out with promises of baby carrots and grubloaf with the best orange food mash.

You sometimes hear other teachers calling you special. And that makes you really happy!!! Sometimes you hear Sis yelling over the phone, about you, that makes you scared. She's loud when she yells. She tells the people on the phone that you're "not a retard" and "should be treated like any other child". You don't know what retard means, but you guess you aren't that. Even though some older kids call you that on the playground. 

You spend a lot of time on your computer. Sometimes Sis drags you away from it to go "play with something real". You don't like it when that happens. That's mean of her! 

But today you are very very uncomfortable. Because it's lusus day and you know all the other trolls are very excited. You're supposed to draw a picture of your lusus. You don't want to do that. You don't want to do that. You close your eyes and put your hands over your ears and shake your head fast. Once she hands out materials to everybody, the teacher lightly guides you over out of the room.  
"What's wrong Aeseop?"  
"I don't want to do it! I don't wanna!"  
"Why not? It's nice"  
You burst into tears and start sobbing. She lightly pets your hair. She has a teacher's assistant go to the office and get your anxiety medication when you start wheezing. You can't breathe you can't BREATHE. You swallow half a pill and calm down a bit, though still shaking. 

"Why don't you want to draw a picture of your lusus Aeseop? I'm sure she'd appreciate it!"   
She speaks softly. Almost a whisper.  
"B-b-because she is-was not very nice-ice t-to me"   
"How do you mean?"  
"She-she wouldn't let me eat!"  
You wail like a little grub. And all your class is staring at you.   
"Wh- Aeseop are you adopted?"  
You nod furiously.   
"Humans?"  
You nod again. She rubs your back until you calm down. And suits you to draw a picture of you with Sis and Wiss.

>Be Sis:   
You pick Aeseop and Wiss up at school. The teacher stops you at the door to Aeseop's class.  
"Miss Kenlim?"  
"Yes?"  
"So Aeseop is adopted?"  
"... Yes? Why?"  
"She was abused?"  
"Yes."  
"Does that make her difficult to raise?"  
"Sometimes."

She opens her mouth to talk again, but you cut her off.  
"Listen lady, I just want to pick my kid up, and go home. Without inquiries as to her home life before me."  
"SIS!"  
Aeseop charges toward you. Paper in hand. She tapes these up all over her room. You don't know why. She hugs your legs and you swiftly pick her 7 drawing of Wiss, you, and her.   
"Nice job!"   
She squeals and you set her down. 

You go to pick up Wiss and have an after-school snack prepared. She disregards it and heads to her room for her computer. You sigh and follow her in.  
"Aeseop. You know computer time is only 1 hour."  
"Noooo"  
"Aeseop you can't stay on the computer forever"  
"Yes I can"  
"What do you even do on that thing?"  
"I talk to my friends"  
"Woahhh hey. Lemme see that"

She, honest to god hisses at you. And clutches her computer close to her. Okay. She's clearly got something to hide. You manage to wrestle the computer from her arms. Despite her vehement protests. You read through her internet history. Forums, games, YouTube, whatever. She has a messaging app. You read through her messages there. Oh. She has internet friends. Yeah. That's not good. She's for going human interaction for internet people. That are probably 40 year old creeps!

"Yeah. Aeseop. This"  
You point to her computer screen.  
"Isn't allowed. I'm going to take the computer away for a month so you can make real friends"  
"NO! NO NO NO! DONT DO THAT!"  
She screams at the top of her lungs. But you don't cave.  
"No. Aeseop. Stop shouting."  
"I HATE YOU!"  
You stop. Your blood runs cold. Okay. That is where you draw the line. You grab her by the shoulders and shake her. She falls back on the bed.   
"AESEOP! DONT EVER SAY THAT. I WILL SEND YOU BACK TO YOUR LUSUS! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? I DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY RULES I LET SLIDE BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE?!"

She cries softly on the bed. Why is she so quiet? Usually she'd be wailing and screaming. 

The realization that, not only did you scream at the top of your lungs to an abused little girl. That's quite literally half your height. You threatened to send her back to her abuser. You are the scum of the earth. Oh fuck you are awful. You stand up and head to your own room. You clutch the picture she drew today and rock yourself back and forth crying. When you finally get to your senses. You walk back out to the living room. Wiss isn't there. Oh fuck he better not have ran away. That was a debacle you don't want to repeat. You hear Aeseop crying. You walk to her room and find Wiss trying to comfort her.

"It's okay Aeseop. She yells sometimes. That's okay."  
"But-but-but-but she said she'd SEND ME back!"  
She starts wheezing and coughing. She looks like she really can't breathe.   
"Are you choking?!?!"  
She shakes her head at him. You run to the kitchen and feed her an anxiety pill. Her breathing slowly is regulated and she starts panting. You wait until she's completely fine and breathing normally to say anything.

"Aeseop I am so so so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have said any of that."  
The sobs still wrack her body. You try to hug her. But she cowers away. She hides herself in Wiss. Who is wholly confused.   
"Aeseop..."  
"I'm SORRY! I won't fight anymore I PROMISE!"   
The anxiety meds are supposed to keep her calm. But you guess all she's needed before is some light encouragement and her breathing to regulate itself. 

"Here. Cmon Wiss. Leave her be."  
He looks a little hesitant. But he shakes her off and goes to play in the living room.  
"Aeseop? Honey I know. I didn't mean it. I got angry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have yelled. I won't send you back. You're a good girl baby. You are so so so SO good. So good Aeseop" You don't think she's too keen on touch right now.

At one point the sobs and crying just stop. Looks like she tired herself out... she's asleep. You cover her in all the blankets in the house. Nine whole blankets. Plus her own. Because you know she likes that. She's always asking for more blankets. Even when you ask her if she's cold and she says no. 

You head out into the living room and call the agency on your cellphone.  
"Hey. Yeah? Asen Kenlim? Caretaker for Aeseop Blaren. Hm? Oh. Three sweeps. Almost three and a half I think. Rustblood"  
"What are you calling for?"  
"I wanted to tell you guys something as well as ask a few questions. First order of business: I may have lost my temper today. I yelled at her and threatened to send her back to her lusus"  
"Miss Kenlim you know we can't do-"  
"No no. I don't want to send her back. No it's the opposite but now... I don't know how to win her trust back again"  
"Miss Kenlim why are you whispering?"  
"My brother is in the room"  
"Broth- oh yes. Anyways. Just give her time."  
"Fine. I have one more question"

The woman on the other end sighs.  
"Make it quick."  
"She's too attached to her computer. I've tried every trick on the internet and read every book. I can't tear her away from it. What can I do? Is this a symptom of something?"  
The lady sighs yet again.  
"It's a symptom of being a troll sweetheart. Young Trolls always have been raised on the internet. Especially in the recent couple centuries. Allow her her computer. It helps her make connections and is essential in her growth"  
Now it's YOUR turn to sigh.  
"Yeah. Fine. See you later"  
You hang up and decide to go lay down with Aeseop.

She stirs, but freezes when she realizes you're next to her. You wipe the hair from her sweat and tear covered forehead. And hug her tight.   
"I'm sor-"  
"Goodnight Aeseop. It's been a long day. Just... you can go back to sleep..."  
Fuck it  
"...I love you."


End file.
